Studio couch



April 15, 1941.

H. HALLERAN 2,238,729

STUDIO COUCH Filgd Sept. 3, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 15,1941. HALL AN 2,238,729

STUD-IO COUCH Filed Sept. 3, 1938 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 15, 1941. H. HALLERAN STUDIO COUCH Filed Sept. 3, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mam 5% davenports.

Patented Apr. 15, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STUDIO COUCH Harry Halleran,

Roselle, N. J

assignor to Simmons Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application September 3, 1938, Serial No. 223,440

7 Claims. (01. 5-21) which the latter is adapted to be withdrawn from v a housed position under the stationary section.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a studio couch structure wherein the movable section is so housed within the stationary section that the latter may be constructed to present the characteristic appearance of more or less conventional davenport construction. In studio couch constructions, it has been customary to construct the outer section in such a way that its sides extend to within an inch or two of the floor, so that the inner or housed section would be eiiectively concealed from view. A conventional davenport embodies legs usually from'four to 'six inches in length which support the davenport structure at a corresponding elevation from the floor. Because of the difi'erences in the elevation from the floor in studio couch structures and davenport structures, studio couch structures have been readily distinguishable from present invention to provide a studio couch structure wherein the housed section is supported and housed in such a way that the main section may be elevated from the floor by davenport type legs without exposing the housed section to view.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a structure of the character indicated wherein the movable section may be easily withdrawn It is the principal object of the' from its housed position and adjusted to bed position; to provide astructure' of the character indicated which is free from complex operating parts; to provide a structure which may be manufactured economically and at low cost, but

which will be durable and eificient for its purposes; and, in general it is the object of the invention to provide an improved studio couch of the character indicated.

In the accompanying drawings (3 sheets) wherein there is illustrated a studio couch em- Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan of a portion of the structure shown in Figure 3 but on an enlarged scale, and

Figure 6 is a section on the line 5-6 of Fig ure 1.

The studio couch structure shown in the drawings comprises a main or normally stationary bed bottom structure represented in Figures 1 and 3 by the angle iron framework marked 1, the same being suitably mounted in a wooden davenport structure 8 as shown, the latter being provided with upholstery indicated at 8a.

A movable and collapsible bed section is shown as comprising an angle iron frame marked 9, the same being supportedat its rear or inner side I byrollers Ill-4U depending from the rear longitudinal member of the frame 9. The rollers |0l0 rest on the horizontal flanges of angle iron tracks ll-H, the latter being pivoted'as shown at 12 to brackets depending from the rear longitudinal member of the stationary bed frame I. The two tracks l'I--l l are connected intermediate their lengths by a link l3, and rigidity is obtained by means of corner braces l4.

The front ends of the tracks H are equipped with outwardly extending pins l5-|5 which rest on brackets such as indicated at [5 carried by the front longitudinal member of the movable bed frame 9.

The movable section is normally retained in its elevated position by means of a pin l! which de pends from the front longitudinal member'of the main bed frame I and passes through a suitable hole l8 in the front longitudinal member of the movable bed frame 9. A latch comprising a lever l9 pivoted as indicated at 20 to the horizontal flange of the front frame member 9 is provided for locking th movable frame in elevated position. The lever [9 has a D-shaped hole Illa through which the lower end of the pin 11 may pass, and a spring 2| normally urges the lever to swing inwardly or clockwise in Figure 5 so as to cause the flat side of the hole 20 to enter a r notch 22 in the pin H. To release the locking device, the lever 19 is manually actuated by reaching under the frame of the main bed structure and pulling forwardly or outwardly on the handle-forming flange 23.

The front of the movable section is also supported in elevated position by a foldable leg comprising a wood part 24 which is slidably secured to a metal leg member 25. The member 25 is equipped with a floor-engaging roller 25a. The upper end of the member 25 is provided with sldewise extending pivot pins 26 which engage brackets 2l--2'| carried by the front movable frame member of the movable section 9. The member 25 is equipped with a slot 28 through which fastening screws 29 pass for securing the member 25 to the wood leg 24. The screws 29 also serve to attach an anchor 30 to the wood leg, the anchor 30 receiving one end of a spring 3!, the other end of which is attached to a bracket 32 which is carried by the member 25. The bracket 32 has also connected to it a pain of springs 3333 which ar under slight tension and connected at their other ends to a bracket 34 which is mounted on the front frame member 9.

When the latch I9 is disengaged, the front portion of the movable bed structure may be lowered to the position indicated in dotted lines in Figure l, by pulling outwardly on the lower end of the leg structure 24-25. The springs 3333 tend to counteract the underfolding movement of the leg, and they should preferably be of such strength that at least a slight forward or outward pull on the lower end of the leg be required to lower the front end of the movable section to the position indicated.

After the front of the collapsible section is lowered as explained, a relatively light forward pull on the leg structure 24-45 will cause the movable bed section to move forwardly to the position shown in full lines in Figure 4. The inclination assumed by the tracks II when the section is lowered, assists the forward movement of the section.

When the structure reaches the position shown in full lines in Figure 4, it may be raised to bed height through the agency of a handle 3'5 (see Figures 1, 3 and 4) which is pivoted at 3'! to the end members of the movable section frame structure 9. The handle 36, through links 38, controls folding legs 39 and 40, each of which are equipped at their lower ends with rollers 39a and 40a, respectively. The folding leg structure is not of itself new and hence is not shown in detail in this application. It may be explained, however, that thelegs at each end of the structure are pivoted together intermediate their ends and that one of the legs is pivoted at its upper end to the bed frame while the other has its upper end connected to the frame by a pin and slot connection as best indicated in the dotted line position of the structure in Figure 4.

Suitable bed bottom fabric as indicated at 49 is stretched between the longitudinal members 9 of the movable couch structure, and said fabric is adapted to support a mattress structure which will provide a top surface approximately level .or co-planar with the top surface of the fixed upholstering 8a of the said portion of the main couch section. If desired, the cushions such as indicated at 5B in Figure 1 may be placed on the bed bottom fabric 49 of the movable couch sectionto constitute the mattress for the purpose indicated. It will be understood, of course, that the said section upholstery 8a will be of a suitable character to constitute a convertible bed. The details of such structure are not illustrated since they are not a part of the present invention.

The springs 33-il3 serve'to counter-balance the weight of the front portion of the movable bed structure, so that when the same is lowered by releasing the latch l9 and pullin the leg 24-, 25 forwardly, the forward portion of the movable section will not drop down suddenly or with force, but will be gently lowered. By the same token, the springs 33-33 will assist in restoring the movable section to its elevated housed position within the stationary couch structure.

The spring 3i acts through the anchor member 36 and the screws 29-29 to normally hold the wood leg part 24 in engagement at its upper edge with the lower edge of the front wood frame member 8 of the stationary couch structure. Preferably, the wood leg part 24 is capable of sliding movement along the metal leg part 25, so that accurate positioning of the wood member on the leg part 25 is not required except to the extent that the wood member should be so positioned that when in its uppermost position on the metal leg 25, the upper edge of the wood leg part will engage the lower edge of the frame member 8 just prior to the time that the leg structure 2%, 25 reaches its normal operative position as shown in full lines in Figure 1. When the parts are so adjusted, the last part of the leg movement may be accompanied by slight downward movement of the wood leg part 24 on the metal part 25, the same being resisted by the spring 3|. Hence, it will be apparent that the wood leg part 24 will be yieldingly maintained in engagement at its upper end with the lower edge of the couch member 8, thereby to insure the appearance of a well-made, well fitted and joined couch structure.

As best shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, it is preferable that the stationary section and the movable section be connected by means which will guide the movement of the movable section. In this instance, such means comprises a pair of crossed links M and 52, the same being pivoted together intermediate their ends. The opposite ends of each of the links 41 and 42 are connected respectively to the stationary and movable sections, the link 41 having one end pivoted as indicated at 43 to an angle iron member 44 and its other end connected as indicated at 45 by means of a pin and slot connection to the rear frame member 1 of the stationary section. The link 12 has one end pivoted as shown at 36 to the rear frame member I of the stationary section, and its other end slidably connected as indicated at 41 to the member 44. The member Ml may be in the form of an angle iron element extending between and rigidly connecting the legs 39, 39 at opposite ends of the movable section. Corner braces such as indicated at 48, d8 may be provided for imparting rigidity to the legs 39, 39 and their connecting member 44. The described crossed link structure constitutes a lazy tongs device and is operative to maintain a parallel relationship between the main and movable couch units. If desired, the connections at 43 and 41 between the lazy tongs structure and the movable section may be disengageable so that the movable section may be separated from the main section for use as a single or so-called twin bed.

The operation of closing the couch structure consists in first collapsing the auxiliary couch unit from the dotted line position shown in Figure 4 to its collapsed position shown in full lines in said figure. Thereupon, the collapsed couch section is rolled inwardly under the main couch section, the rollers Ifl riding upwardly on the inclined tracks H until the brackets l6 engage the pins l5, whereupon the collapsed auxiliary couch structure and tracks are ready to be swung upwardly to fully concealed position as shown in full lines in Figure 1. The elevation of the collapsed couch structure and tracks is readily effected by the application of slight lifting force thus transmitted directly to the collapsed couch structure, the brackets I6, acting through the pins l5, cause the tracks I! to swing upwardly about their pivots [2.

It will be apparent from the foregoing explanation and from an examination of the drawings that the couch structure is such that the outer or main section is equipped with davenport legs, i. e. legs of substantial length, so that the structure in its entirety when collapsed presents the appearance of a more or less conventional davenport. This is highly desirable in that such a structure will harmonize with other furniture, whereas conventional studio couches necessarily present a significantly different appearance.

Changes in the described structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the following claims, the

same being construed as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

1. In a studio couch structure, the combination of a main couch section and an auxiliary couch section movable to and from a position under said main section and adapted, when under the latter,

to be elevated to a substantially concealed position within the main couch section, a pair of tracks extending transversely of the main couch section and pivoted at their rear ends to portions of said main couch structure, said tracks being adapted to be swung in vertical-planes so as to be capable of assuming selectively substantially horizontal positions and downwardly and forwardly inclined positions, said auxiliary section A having rollers adapted to ride on said tracks and being adapted to be rolled on the floor to a position on said tracks without manual elevation of the section, means for facilitating elevation of the front portion of said auxiliary section and upward swinging movement of the front ends of said tracks to position the latter substantially horizontally, and disengageable means for locking the auxiliary section and tracks in said elevated position.

2. In a studio couch structure, the combination of a main couch section and an auxiliary couch section adapted to be housed under the main section and to be adjusted to bed position adjacent the front of said main section, means carried by said main section for supporting said auxiliary section in concealed position under said main section and in upwardly spaced relation to the floor, and manually operable means connected to said auxilary section and engaging the floor at the front of said main section for effecting elevation of the section to said concealed position.

3. In a studio couch structure of the class described, the combination of a main couch section and a collapsible couch section adapted to be housed under said main couch section, said auxiliary section having a front leg structure adapted, when the auxiliary section is in housed position, to form a leg structure for said main section, and

means for yieldingly maintaining said leg structure in engagement with a portion of said main structure.

4. In a studio couch structure, the combination of a main couch section and an auxiliary couch section adapted to be housed under the main couch section, a pair of tracks extending transversely of the main couch section and pivoted at their rear ends to portions of said main couch structure, said tracks being adapted to be swung in vertical planes so as to be capable of assuming selectively substantially horizontal positions and downwardly and forwardly inclined positions, said auxiliary section having rollers adapted to ride on said tracks and being adapted to be moved rearwardly to a position on said tracks, and means for facilitating elevation of the front portion of said auxiliary section and upward swinging movement of the front ends of said tracks, comprising a leg member pivotally connected adjacent its upper end to said auxiliary couch section and provided at its lower end with a floorengaging roller, and spring means normally tending to maintain said leg in an approximately vertically disposed position, said leg being resiliently adjustable to a horizontally extended position to permit lowering of said auxiliary couch structure substantially as described.

5. ma studio couch of the class described, the combination of a main couch section and an auxiliary couch section adapted to be normally housed under said main section in an elevated, off-the-floor position, track means vertically adjustably mounted on said main section for supporting said auxiliary section in said off-the-fioor position, said track means being adapted to be lowered to permit movement of said auxiliary section on the floor from said track means and from under said main couch section to an extended position, said track means, when so lowered, being adapted, upon return movement of said auxiliary section, to receive the same from the floor without manual elevation of the section, said track means being movable upwardly to thereby return said auxiliary section to said offthe-fioor position, and means for releasably looking said auxiliary section and track means in said elevated position.

6. In a studio couch of the class described, the combination of a main couch section and an auxiliary couch section adapted to be normally housed under said main section in an elevated, off-the-floor position, track means vertically adjustably mounted on said main section for supporting said auxiliary section in said oif-the-fioor position, said track means being adapted to be lowered to permit movement of said auxiliary section on the floor from said track means and from under said main couch section to an extended position, said track means, when so lowered, be ing adapted, upon return movement of said auxiliary section, to receive the same from the floor without manual elevation of the section, and means for elevating said auxiliary section and tracks as a unit and for retaining the same so elevated.

'7. A studio couch construction according to claim 5 and in which the track means is pivotally mounted on the main section for vertical swinging movement between auxiliary section supporting position and lowered position, and wherein the auxiliary section is provided with rollers adapted to roll on the floor and on the track means to facilitate movement of said auxiliary section to and from extended position.

HARRY HALLERAN. 

